Cocaine Unwrapped

Leo Burnett London is collaborating with Dartmouth Films to promote “Cocaine Unwrapped”, a documentary on the cocaine industry by Rachel Seifert, premiered in London on Wednesday 16th May. The objective of the film and Leo Burnett’s campaign is to raise awareness and understanding amongst the British public of how cocaine consumption in the UK has been profoundly damaging South America as a continent. A piece of sound design experiential transforms the snorting of a line of cocaine in London into an execution somewhere in Mexico. Two 90 second films that precede the showing of the ‘Cocaine Unwrapped’ film highlight the simple equation that “One Line = One Life”.

The first 90 second film, “Run for your Life”, features a group of South American people running with terror through a suburban British street, dropping dead one after another. One survivor makes it to a home where party-goers are chopping a line of cocaine and snorting it. “For every line of cocaine snorted in the UK, a life is taken in South America”. Click on the image below to play the Run for Your Life video in YouTube

A piece of sound design experiential transforms the snorting of a line of cocaine in London into an execution somewhere in Mexico: “One Line = One Life”. Click on the image below to play the Sound Design video in YouTube

The second 90 second film, “The Machine” follows the path of a destructive machine which mows down and harvests all in its path, from Colombian farmers trying to make a living, women forced into becoming drug mules to feed their families, and innocent by-standers caught in the cross-fire of the warring cartels and militia. “Snort a line of cocaine and you’re fuelling the machine”. Click on the image below to play the Machine video in YouTube

Leo Burnett produced electronic invitations to the film premiere that scroll down a white line to a wrap with the event details and hard copy wraps that can be opened to reveal the information. The agency also designed the poster and website cocaineunwrapped.com and will be continuing an on-going relationship to try and help highlight the devastating effect of cocaine use in the UK on people thousands of miles away in South America. The campaign line ‘You can’t ignore what’s under your nose’ hopes to bring the effects of cocaine on those innocent people a little closer to home.

‘Cocaine Unwrapped’ is a documentary film which explores the impact of the illegal drugs trade across societies in the Americas. The film highlights the destruction and distress that cocaine production, trafficking and trade, and the international community’s self-declared war against it, wreaks upon communities and individuals. The film does not attempt to provide any solutions. It simply seeks to highlight the fact that not only are Western countries, especially the British public, largely responsible for this problem (given their elevated consumption), but the majority of users have no idea as to the bloody and brutal nature of the drugs trade and what purchasing this product implies. Furthermore, as a society we are hugely guilty of ignoring this massive geopolitical issue. By refusing to explore the cocaine question completely and continuing to pursue the ‘War on Drugs’ we are blindly pursuing a course to which the end is only further death and destruction. As Rachel’s film states “he who wins the war on drugs, will be the most violent and most ruthless party”. So where we are is untenable, but what we are going to do instead has not even been broached. Watch the full film on youtube.com/movie/cocaine-unwrapped, or watch on Journeyman. Follow the Cocaine Unwrapped campaign on facebook.com/Cokeunwrapped and @CokeUnwrapped.

Click on the image below to play the Cocaine Unwrapped 2012 Trailer in YouTube

‘Fuelling the Machine’ is a very appropriate and effective metaphor for the carnage caused to keep the drug trade ‘assembly line’ running… But the execution of this spot we feel doesn’t fully capture this… With such a powerful cause you need equally powerful advertising… http://wp.me/p1YqS8-3W

F&G.

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